By Michael Sznajderman
Birmingham has so much to offer, especially for visitors.
From our important civil rights sites, to our unique industrial heritage, to our amazing parks and greenways, to our nationally recognized foodie scene, we punch above our weight as a destination.
So why is it that, unlike most destination cities, some of our most significant attractions are closed on Sundays?
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute? Closed.
Sloss Furnaces National Historic Site? Closed.
The A.G. Gaston exhibit and the National Park Service portion of the A.G. Gaston Motel? Closed.
(A clarification: the delightful Alicia’s Coffee Shop inside the motel is open on Sunday. If you haven’t been there, you’re missing out.)
I love going to Alicia’s anytime – it is fun and friendly, and just thinking about the history that took place at the Gaston Motel is reason enough to have a seat and a coffee and soak it all in. But stop by there on a Sunday and you’ll witness the problem.
On one recent Sunday afternoon at Alicia’s, while I sipped an iced coffee, travelers from Ireland, from Mississippi, from Chicago and Philadelphia stepped inside the coffee shop.
They were expecting to be able to step into the motel’s courtyard where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Revs. Fred Shuttlesworth and Ralph Abernathy and other civil rights leaders gathered and planned strategy during the climactic 1963 protests. The travelers had hoped to visit the Civil Rights Institute and learn about our city’s past and progress and its contributions to global human rights. No go.
Of course, many of our famous restaurants also are closed on Sundays, although there are great Sunday brunch and even dinner options in the central city and across the metro. Back Forty Beer Company is one place where you can have lunch and a cold brew on Sunday, and sit outside to enjoy our stellar fall weather. But just across the street, the gates at Sloss Furnaces are locked.
To be fair, Birmingham has some great attractions that are open on Sundays. The Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Birmingham Zoo are open. So is McWane Science Center. So is Vulcan Park and Museum. Folks also can enjoy our expanding park network, from Red Mountain Park to Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, to Railroad Park and Oak Mountain State Park.
But for visitors staying downtown, convention-goers, and folks passing through on the interstate, Sunday hours at Sloss Furnaces, the A.G. Gaston Museum/courtyard and the Civil Rights Institute would really up the game — especially for those interested in our city’s civil rights and industrial history.
It’s not a complicated fix. If it’s a question of staffing costs, consider shifting schedules to allow for these important attractions to open for a few hours Sunday afternoons. And if it forces these institutions to close on another day, isn’t it more important to be open for visitors and travelers and families on Sundays vs. Tuesday?
As for the National Park Service, if staff aren’t available, why not train volunteer docents to be at the A.G. Gaston Motel on Sunday afternoons? It’s baffling that the park service — eight years after the Birmingham Civil Rights District was designated a National Monument — doesn’t have a physical presence in the district every day. (And another thing: how much longer till the park service restores the famous “war room” at the Gaston Motel where King, Shuttlesworth and other civil rights leaders held their meetings? I mean, we’re talking ONE motel room!)
Real cities with big attractions keep those attractions open on Sundays, when many families are off from work and school and are looking for things to do. And those who are intentionally visiting our city on a weekend shouldn’t be negatively surprised and disappointed to learn that some of our most important sites are shuttered on a Sunday afternoon.
Birmingham is known for Southern hospitality, its caring people and welcoming spirit. Sunday shouldn’t be an exception.
Michael Sznajderman is a retired public relations professional and former newspaper reporter, columnist and editor. He lives in Birmingham.
You may enjoy these columns written by Michael:
- The future of Highlands Bar & Grill and 24 other things for Birmingham to Ponder in 2025
- Don’t be surprised: People love Birmingham!
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
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Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com
Michael, you are so right. It is ridiculous for key tourist attractions to be closed on Sunday. Hopefully the new CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau can help these lagging facilities figure out how important it is to be a welcoming City.
BTW, add the non-functioning elevator at Vulcan Park to the list of disappointments encountered by out-of-town Thanksgiving visitors. What a shame.
Thank you, Maury. I had heard that the elevator was fixed at Vulcan but apparently not? I don’t understand why they haven’t launched a public campaign to raise the funds to get it fixed or replaced. Clearly, people who love Vulcan and our local corporate and philanthropic institutions would contribute to that.
Sunday is considered the Lord’s Day by Christians. However other religions recognize the Sabbath on Saturday or from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. There are many who do not observe the Sabbath at all. For major institutions to be closed on Sunday makes little since when the Birmingham area’s tourist population and the resident population is diverse in religion.
Let people take the day off when they feel led to do so. If everyone at a workplace needs a day of the week off, try Monday when most people are at work anyway. Some downtown Birmingham restaurants do this.
Agree Pat!
Hi David! Sloss Furnaces stopped being open on Sundays during COVID. We haven’t had enough staff to open again until a new administrative position was added. We should be open on Sunday again in the first quarter of 2026. Thanks for shining a light on the issue.
This is great news David. Also exciting to see is your proposed expansion plans with more family activities at Sloss Furnaces. Especially love the idea of creating trails and improving connectivity to the neighborhood.
For many years, Tripadvisor has ranked the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum as Birmingham’s #1 tourist attraction. It is open seven days/week. Barber understands that many of their visitors come from out-of-town and visit on weekends.
The Barber Museum is located within the city limits of Birmingham. It has a Leeds mailing address because of the US Post Office’s archaic zip code system.
Barber motorsports park is a sensational attraction and yes – definitely an oversight not to mention it.
I’m no traffic engineer, but one thing I would like to see fixed and better maintained is the lighting for our entrances to the city, both off Interstates 65 and 59/20 and the Red Mountain Expressway. The super cool lighting down by citywalk is a fantastic and exciting way to light up that area, but the the lights at other entrances are constantly down, to my understanding it is because of people trying to steal copper wire. Especially the exit at University Boulevard and Highway 280: it should be maintained better, considering many people come off that exit to come to our amazing medical facilities, sometimes in emergencies at night. Alabama Power, I believe you have the contract to maintain these?
Thank you Thank you Thank you! I have always wondered WHY these institutions of great importance and leisure are closed on one of the most likely day’s of the week for locals and out of town visitors? Doesn’t make any kind of sense to me. Even some of our most talked about restaurants in downtown are CLOSED on Sundays…gesh Birmingham! You can’t be a world-class city operating like a town! Off the subject…Why are there only three lanes of thru traffic passing through our downtown corridors and limited exits and entrances into n out of our great city…so frigging backwards?
Darren, I misplaced a comment on your remarks up above. Check it out.
I appreciate the response, and yes, the expressway lighting definitely needs repair throughout the city proper. However, my concern is with a city that is actually growing from the outside in…has only three thru-lanes of trave passing through the heart of the city? The state put up all those nice little ramps, bridges n fly-overs, and did not add a single additional thru-lane(s) to support the increase in volume. That was not smart. To add insult to injury; they are adding lanes east, south n west just outside the city limits to funnel more traffic in, that will create more useless bottlenecks in the city center. Have you tried supporting the new entertainment venues and the headache of maneuvering in and/or out of the area? The state created those headaches. There should have been an emphasis placed on adding additional entrance and exit ramps as well as adding additional lanes though to expedite flow…talk about cart before the horse…
I guess I haven’t experienced the problems that you are sharing regarding access into the central city. I already have my “special space” for parking near the Coca-Cola amphitheater. Not to give it away, but I have not had any problem parking close to the amphitheater for free and walking a couple blocks to attend shows there. A bigger problem to me were the voracious, predatory towing trucks, but I believe the city is addressing that problem for people who are not familiar with the parking rules downtown.